Fire in Edinburgh Garage- MSP supports Rock Trust – The Edinburgh Quartet tonight – Edinburgh remembers – Leith Shipshape
Around 40 firefighters have been fighting a large-scale fire at a single-storey garage in the Danderhall area of the city today.
The alarm was raised at 10am to a building on Old Dalkeith Road. When firefighters arrived, they discovered a garage well alight and thick smoke drifting from the premises.
A man, believed to be in his 50s, was found suffering from smoke inhalation. Ambulance crews treated him at the scene before he was transported to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for a full check-up.
Five pumping appliances, a turntable ladder, Command Support Unit, Incident Support Unit and DIM (Detection, Identification and Monitoring) vehicle were mobilised to the scene.
Police were also alerted due to concerns about thick smoke in the vicinity of the nearby road.
Crews remain at the scene to extinguish the blaze.
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Edinburgh Central MSP Marco Biagi will this evening join other hardy souls who will be donning their thermals and braving the Scottish weather to sleep out with Edinburgh charity Rock Trust in the city’s Festival Square.
The MSP will take part in a mass sleep out taking place in cities across the UK, to raise awareness of homeless young people.
The event aims to highlight the stories of the city’s homeless and raise money for charities supporting those sleeping out every night.
The funds directly raised from Sleep Out 2012 will fund Nightstop, an emergency accommodation project for young people aged 16 to 25. Working towards decreasing the extent of youth homelessness Nightstop provides up to 3 nights’ emergency accommodation for those in need.
The Edinburgh MSP said, “The Rock Trust have been providing an invaluable service to Edinburgh’s homeless people for over 20 years. I am proud to help them highlight the continuing adversity faced by young people who find themselves living on the street.
“There is no way to replicate all of the risks and dangers of homelessness, but everyone braving the cold on Thursday is showing their commitment to keeping this issue at the forefront of Scotland’s attention.
“20,000 homeless applications were made in Scotland in 2011-2012 by individuals aged between 16 and 24, which highlights the vital nature of the services that organisations such as the Rock Trust provide.
“The Scottish Government has set ambitious targets that by the end of 2012 all unintentionally homeless people will be entitled to settled accommodation. Indeed, most recent statistics for the period April to June 2012 show a decline of 13% in applications for homelessness assistance compared to the same period in the previous year.”
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The Edinburgh Quartet will present the first of three “Late Sessions” in the Lounge Bar, Teviot Row House in Bristo Square, Edinburgh on Thursday 8 November at 9.00pm. Admission is free.
The Edinburgh Quartet, renowned champions of British music, will perform Benjamin Britten’s Divertimenti and Three Idylls by Frank Bridge in the informal candle-lit surroundings of the Lounge Bar, while audience members relax with a drink.
This concert is the first of three late night concerts in this venue which are supported by Creative Scotland, and are part of the Quartet’s mission to provide experiences to entice all ages. The subsequent late sessions will take place on January 18th and March 1st 2013 and will feature the music of Henry Purcell, Nigel Osborne, James MacMillan and John Tavener.
Quartet Leader Tristan Gurney said:
“We’re aiming to make chamber music accessible to new, and particularly younger, audiences by taking away some of the formalities that go with traditional classical concerts and offering chamber music as a more intimate, friendly experience. ”
The Edinburgh Quartet
Teviot Lounge Bar, Teviot Row House, 13 Bristo Square, Edinburgh EH8 9AJ
Thursday 8 November at 9.00pm
ADMISSION FREE
Further information about the full concert season available at www.edinburghquartet.com
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This weekend, Edinburgh will join the rest of the world in observing Remembrance Day – a commemoration of the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians in times of war.
Two minutes’ silence will be marked on Sunday, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month – a date which marks the anniversary of the ending of the First World War in 1918 between the Allies and Germany.
Scotland’s national remembrance ceremony will take place on Remembrance Sunday at the Stone of Remembrance on the Royal Mile.
In attendance will be the Rt Hon Donald Wilson, Lord Lieutenant and Lord Provost of the City of Edinburgh, the Rt Hon Alex Salmond MSP, First Minister of Scotland and the Rt Hon Michael Moore MP, Secretary of State for Scotland.
Lord Provost Donald Wilson said: “On Remembrance Sunday, people the length and breadth of Britain will pay tribute to all those who have fought and died – and who continue to do so – in order to keep this country safe.
“Whether it’s by attending a Remembrance Service or Parade, or simply by taking a moment of quiet reflection, we can all show our gratitude and appreciation for the enormous sacrifices being made every day on our behalf by so many courageous men and women.”
Included below is a list of some of the Remembrance services and parades taking place across the city on Sunday:
Royal British Legion Remembrance Day parade
When? 10am
Where? Meeting in St Giles Street
Details: The parade will head eastward to the Stone of Remembrance at the City Chambers where they will be met by civic dignitaries and representatives of various public bodies for the Act of Remembrance and a wreath laying ceremony. This will be followed by a service in St Giles Cathedral.
Kirkliston Remembrance Day parade
When? 12pm
Where? Meeting at the Square following morning worship at Kirkliston Parish Church
Details: The parade, headed by the Drambuie Kirkliston Pipe Band, will march via the High Street and Station Road to the war memorial at the junction with Main Street, where a short remembrance service will take place.
South Queensferry Remembrance Day parade
When? 10.30am
Where? Meeting at the small car park in High Street, South Queensferry
Details: The parade will march to the Cenotaph at Roseberry Hall on the High Street where there will be a short Remembrance Service and wreath laying. The parade will then march to South Queensferry Parish Church in The Loan.
Corstorphine Remembrance Day service
When? 10am
Where? Close to the War Memorial at Corstorphine Kirk, Kirk Loan
Davidson’s Mains Remembrance service and parade
When? 12.30pm
Where? East Barnton Gardens, near to Cramond Road South)
Details: The parade will move towards the War Memorial situated in ‘The Green’, where the Remembrance Service will take place.
Heart of Midlothian Remembrance Day service
When? 10.30am
Where? Grosvenor Street, from the junction at West Maitland Street
Details: Wreaths will be laid at Grosvenor Street (and later moved to Haymarket Junction).The Salvation Army Band will then march from Caledonian Place and Dalry Road to Grosvenor Street, where a one-minute silence will be observed.
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What?
ShipShape Leith is a joint initiative created to address the street appearance issues that have been raised by the community.
Where?
We intend to clean all street furniture and remove all graffiti affecting these main routes:
Newhaven Place to Salamander Street (Specialist Services, Community Payback)
North Junction Street (Specialist Services, Community Payback)
Great Junction Street (City Centre Posters)
Constitution Street (ShipShape Leith Volunteer Day – Friday 16 November)
Duke Street (City Centre Posters)
Broughton Street (Specialist Services, Community Payback)
Bonnington Road (Specialist Services, Community Payback)
Leith Walk (City Centre Posters)
Easter Road (Specialist Services, Community Payback)
When?
The ShipShape Leith Volunteer Day will be held on Friday 16 November with volunteers meeting at the Kirkgate Narwhal Monument at 0930.
In a rolling program between 12 and 30 November 2012, the Specialist Services and Community Payback teams will clean the street furniture in most of the streets as listed above.
How?
On the ShipShape Leith Volunteer Day, volunteers from the business community, residents, Police and council staff, will clean the following on Constitution Street:
Bins
lamp posts
street signs
telephone boxes
post boxes
bus stops
The equipment, supplied by the City of Edinburgh Council, will include rubber gloves, goggles, wallpaper scrapers, hand brushes, snips and graffiti wipes.
Even if you can only spare a morning, afternoon or just 1 hour of your time it will make all the difference. If you would like to take part in the ShipShape Leith Volunteer Day, please contact Mark (details below) to show your interest.
Mark Robinson
Community Safety Officer
0131 529 7090
Mark.Robinson@edinburgh.gov.uk
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
